The refugee cap set by the White House will be the lowest in recent years. The cap will be set at 45,000 refugees next year. The plan was announced by the White House when it issued a report to Congress late in September, which is required by law. This will be the lowest cap on refugees since a cap was initiated back in 1980.
Refugee resettlement agencies had asked the White House to put the cap at around 75,000 refugees due to increasing demands on humanitarian issues around the world. The cap for last year was set at 110,000 by the previous White House administration. Despite this cap, only half the number have been admitted to the country due to the travel ban by the current administration.
Upon arrival to the United States, refugees are automatically eligible for cash assistance, food stamps and health care. A large portion of those costs fall onto the state and local governments, not the federal government, which is angering some states, including Tennessee.
Earlier in 2017, Tennessee sued the federal government regarding refugee resettlement. According to one state senator in Tennessee, the federal government is forcing the state to use money from taxpayers for things that individual residents do not agree with.
According to researchers at Notre Dame, it costs and estimated $180,000 to resettle just one refugee. The estimate takes into account both direct and indirect costs.
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Source: WABE, “Trump Administration To Drop Refugee Cap To 45,000, Lowest In Years,” Joel Rose, Sep. 28, 2017